Biography

Nazir Nabaa

Biography from Ayyam Auctions

Nazir Nabaa was born in Damascus in 1938, he studied oil painting at the Faculty of Fine Arts in Cairo between 1959-1965 before traveling to Paris to continue his academic training several years later. Upon returning to Damascus he worked as an instructor at the Faculty of Fine Arts, where he was part of a significant group of artists that influenced a generation of contemporary painters. An accomplished artist in his own right, he received many honors at the start of his career, most notably from the Alexandria Biennale and the Academy of Fine Arts in Paris, as he participated in exhibitions at home and abroad. Today, his paintings are housed in the National Museum of Damascus, the Syrian Presidential Palace and Ministry of Culture and countless private collections.
Although a highly skilled draughtsman, Nabaa quickly became attracted to modernist techniques that utilized Cubism and other forms of semi-abstraction to depict both realistic and metaphoric subjects. This led to an expressionist style that utilized symbolism as he became interested in mythology and regional folklore, in addition to the challenges that were specific to modern Arab life. In many instances these interests were combined in a single composition, creating powerful representations that could speak to all cultures.

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